Leeds Met Uni comms lessons to feed into Qatar World Cup

Academics from Leeds Met University are running short courses in comms for attendees including members of the Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee, the Qatar Tourism Authority, the Qatar Football Association and the Qatar Olympic Committee.

Professor Ralph Tench, Lucy Laville, Dr Ioannis Kostopoulos and Phil Clements are conducting the training alongside the Josoor Institute, which trains people who are set to play an integral role in the World Cup.

Commenting on the project, Tench said: "Going forward we hope to be developing full study programmes for the delegates over the next five years but also engaging in commissioned research projects about sport, sports business and related social issues on the build-up to the 2022 World Cup."

Last month FIFA president Sepp Blatter backed moving the World Cup from the summer to the winter but reiterated that any official decision would be left until the end of 2014.